Page 65 of Heat Exchange
“Oh, yeah.” He grabbed the remote and pulled up the menu. “And it’s not just an episode. They had a marathon, so I saved the whole first season.”
“Aren’t you way past that? You’ve already seen the first season.”
“I’ll watch it again. It has zombies. Trust me, you’ll like it.”
Once he hit Play, he lifted his arm and she snuggled against his side as the show started. She’d heard a lot about the show, but working nights meant having to save or stream prime-time shows to watch during the day and she was lazy when it came to television.
But as he tried to drum up her enthusiasm—he was one of thosewatch thisandoh,this next part’s coolkind of people—a part of Lydia’s mind was hung up on Ashley going back to work at the bar the next night.
She wouldn’t leave Boston until Ashley had resolution one way or the other with Danny. Not for the entire process, if it came to divorce, but she’d be there to hold Ashley’s hand when she filed the papers. But if Ashley was feeling strong enough to go back to work, the clock was ticking on her making up her mind about her marriage.
Lydia didn’t want to say anything to Aidan and ruin the mood, but there was a very real possibility she wouldn’t be around to watch the entire season of this show he’d saved to share with her.
* * *
ALMOSTAWEEKLATER, Lydia took another slice of pizza out of the box and slid it onto her paper plate. “This pizza was worth pissing my dad off for. Every time I have pizza in Concord, I think of this, but I haven’t had it since I got home.”
“How pissed is he?”
She shrugged. “He’s not happy, but what is he going to do? He could cover me for three hours while I had a fake appointment, or I can quit and he can cover Ashley every night until she returns to work.”
Aidan laughed and snagged a third slice for himself. “You’ve pretty much got him over a barrel, since you’re the one doing him a favor.”
“So true.” She bit into the pizza, savoring the spicy pepperoni and gooey cheese while a giant robot got its ass kicked in the ocean on television.
When Aidan had texted her that morning and wondered what the chances were she’d be able to stop by for pizza andPacific Rim, she’d told him she’d make it happen. They’d both seen the movie at least a half dozen times, but they hadn’t yet seen it together. And it had been three days since she’d seen him, so she wasn’t missing this opportunity.
After a second bite, she realized that Aidan was looking at her instead of the TV screen. “What?”
“I just think it’s funny how you call the place you have an apartmentConcordand herehome. I don’t even know if you’re aware of it.”
She hadn’t been, actually, but when she replayed her words in her head, she realized he was right. “Old habits die hard, I guess.”
“Or maybe that’s just a place you happen to live, but this is still home to you.”
“Most people probably refer to their hometown as home, especially if they still have family there.”
He shrugged. “Or maybe you needed some time away after your divorce, but your subconscious knows your heart is here.”
Lydia didn’t want any part of a conversation about her heart. “I doubt that.”
After setting the half-eaten slice on the coffee table, Aidan turned sideways on the couch so he was facing her. “Would it be so bad?”
“Would what be so bad?”
“Staying here. You love Kincaid’s Pub. Anybody who spends an hour in the place can see how much pride you take in the place, and the customers love you.”
“Of course I love Kincaid’s. It like...part of the family, as weird as that sounds. But I didn’t leave Boston because I wanted a different job.”
“I know that. It just seems like you’re different now. You’ve proven—to yourself and to your dad—that you can do what you want and make your life whatever you want it to be. So, this time, if you stayed in Boston and tended the bar, it would be your choice.”
It was on the tip of her tongue to deny she had any interest in staying, as if by reflex, but she didn’t. What he’d said kind of made sense to her, and the sudden uncertainty threw her off.
But there were a lot of bars like Kincaid’s Pub in the world, even if they didn’t bear her last name, and she could make a place for herself at any one of them. The difference between the Boston she left behind and the Boston she’d come back to was the man sitting on the couch with her.
The firefighter. The man hiding his relationship with her from the world so his best friend wouldn’t find out. The man so worried about what her father and brother would think that she was sneaking around and lying like a teenager just to have pizza with him.
“Did you really become a firefighter because of my dad?” she asked, deciding if he could push a little, so could she.
